76.875

Cool little mysterious film with really good atmosphere and tension. The B-movie production values show, but the technical aspects are good enough to not detract too much from an otherwise well constructed and, at the time, daring film.

It's got a great mysterious vibe going on, and it was surprisingly dark thematically for a 40s movie - devil worship, suicide, etc. But for the most part the movie didn't totally click with me, and it seemed to drag a lot, despite its short running time.

As long as you don't go in expecting to be frightened, there is something to this Val Lewton production. Its subtlety works in its favor, and though ultimately anti-climatic and not terribly remarkable, some interesting themes entertained along the way make it worth a watch.

a good and suspenseful mystery film. nice ending too. noteworthy as kim hunter's first film.

This bleak-as-fuck horror film from the forties skirts the usual scares (especially when dealing with a satanic cult) and goes for the slow-burn of existential dread.

Woah, that ending! How did they get away with that in 1943? Like the other Val Lewton films I've seen, this is less about plot details and more about building atmosphere. It's genuinely oppressive at times, enhanced hugely by Nicholas Musuraca's chiaroscuro photography and certain scenes that can only be described as surreal. The whole thing is creepy, dream-like, very dark and hugely entertaining.

A fantastic blending of noir and horror. This is an eerie, creepy film which delights with gothic atmosphere and chills with its somber messages. I'm not sure if I've seen a Hollywood film from this era with such a dark ending. It's a stunner. There are some inconsistencies in tonality, especially when characters seem to take things far less seriously than they should. But the boldness of the material, stunning high contrast photography and downright weird scenes help ameliorate the obstacles.

Sort of cheesy at times, and some illogical decisions are made (why was there no hurry to report the murder of the private eye?). The dark ending was unexpected and very effective, though.

Delightfully twisted.

Probably the most boring of all the Val Lewton "quiet horror" epics (although that takes some doing)

A bit stodgy--but generally good diabolical noirish fun. One more quality product from Mr. Val Lewton.

Yuck. Permeates atmosphere at every moment, but gives absolutely no reason to be invested in it.

One of the best B movies ever made. Great use of shadow and suspense. Almost jacobean in atmosphere.

A Val Lewton production, released nine months after the attention-getting Cat People. It's a more muddled affair, but Lewton's trademark visual influence is there. Director Mark Robson uses dark corridors, enveloping shadows and offhand creepy images (a lonely nooses hanging in an empty room, for example) as if they're full-fledged characters. It's hard to parse the meaning of the narrative at times. The mood, on the other hand, is unmistakable due to the imposing gloom that hangs over the film.

My least favorite of the Lewton chillers; it's hard to take the villains seriously. But it does have many of the Lewton virtues. Kim Hunter is quite good here as usual.